🏏 Fri, 8 May 2026 20:45 CEST
RC Lens
vs
FC Nantes
3-4-2-1 vs 3-1-4-2
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- For 2nd-placed Lens (64 points / 31 games), trailing league-leaders PSG (67 points) by three points, this is a match they can no longer afford to drop. With just four points from their last five (1 win, 2 draws, 2 losses), warning lights are flashing over their title bid, and at home against 17th-placed Nantes, in the relegation zone, they will want to secure all three points. Nantes, by contrast, sit in a precarious spot: 23 points from 31 games, five clear of 16th-placed Auxerre (28 points) but only seven above 18th-placed Metz (16 points) in the automatic drop zone.
- In the reverse fixture on Matchday 15, Nantes lost 1-2 to Lens at home. In that game Lens took all three points with efficient attacking play while Nantes exposed their lack of firepower. This time the rematch is at Lens, and picking up points away looks like a tall order for Nantes. It will be intriguing to see how the huge 41-place gap in the standings plays out on the pitch.
- The tactical match-up between Lens's 3-4-2-1 and Nantes's 5-3-2 is fascinating. From the second line, Wesley Said (born 2005, formerly of Rennes) and Rayan Fofana (born 2006, 5 Ligue 1 goals this season) will look to attack the space behind the five-man back line. For Nantes, the 193cm Ibrahima Sissoko (formerly of Strasbourg, with Bundesliga experience too) will take on the job of shutting down the opposition's attacks from the base of midfield.
- Leading the Lens line is Odsonne Edouard (187cm, a PSG academy graduate, formerly of Celtic), in superb form and racking up goals this season. Nantes counter with a physically imposing pair of centre-backs in the 194cm Uros Radakovic (Serbia) and the 189cm Chidozie Awaziem (Nigeria international, formerly of Porto), so fierce aerial duels can be expected.
- Lens's left centre-back Malang Sarr (born 1999, formerly of Chelsea and Porto) serves as a build-up launch point with accurate distribution off his left foot. Drawing on his experience at European heavyweights like Chelsea and Porto, he is enjoying a career-best season. Nantes's front two, Matthis Abline (signed from Rennes for around 12 million euros) and Ignatius Ganago (Cameroon international, formerly of Lens), will look to exploit the space behind Sarr and the rest of the back line.
- Nantes's left-back Deiver Machado (Colombia international) faces his former club, having been at Lens from 2021 to 2024. With more than three seasons in Ligue 1 and a deep familiarity with French football, watch his duels against the hosts' right-sided attackers, Abdallah Sima (188cm, Senegal international, a permanent signing from Brest) and Ruben Aguilar (formerly of Monaco).
- Guarding the Nantes goal is Anthony Lopes (born 1990, Portugal international), a seasoned veteran who served some 12 seasons as Lyon's first-choice keeper. A member of the EURO 2016-winning squad, can his experience and reflexes keep out the Lens attack? He kept a clean sheet against Marseille last time out (a 3-0 win), so his form is on the up.